The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1887-08-06
Glass Making.
THE TANK FURNACE COMING

The tank furnace, AS we nave oiten
pointed out, has not yet proved success
In this country, except In very lew lnstan'
ces and these mostly In the coaIser lines
of glassware, such AS bottles, for cap liners
and colored glass OF various kinds. The
most successful run yet made has been AZ
the Streator, H., bottle works, where II Is
claimed tO have given entire satisfaction,
both as TO the quality Of glass and the much
lower cost for fuel The tank In the win
dow glass ouse AT the same place, tried
during the last blast just ended, has not
been prolific of good results, so far as we
are informed.
The trouble seems to have been that men
not connected with the manufacture OF
glass. and In most cases patentees with
more enthusiasm than experience, have had
hand in building and operating tank fur.
naces. As u rule, also, firms Of limited capt.
tai. who wanted u tank furnace before they
were talked into the belief that 1t was
cheaper that melting In potts. have taken
hold, and after more or less Of costly fail.
ure, have abandoned the project.
The great number of tanks In successful
operation In Europe, noted in another arti.
Gle In this issue, goes far to prove that our
manufacturers and furnace builders have
not yet got on the ght track. In spite OF
the many failures, however, II Is CLEAR that
the tank furnace Is bound 10 come In this
country, for the belief is currant that we
can do Aere what can be done anywhere
else In the world.
Our furnace builders have not given up
irving 20 M lie the tank furnace success,
as Is shown by the fact that our clay pot
e Ln. Al mt OF of fpr
mace brick on hand, and are as willing TO
swear that they will work, that they will
last, and that their bottoms will not bow up,
as the most sanguine inventor.
Our advice, however, to all parties Is to
let others experiment III you must build
a tank, build small one, and don't go back
on pots until you're sure the tank Is better.
Don't build any kind or size of tank un-
less you have money you don't need
american Glass Worker.
MACHINERY IN WINDOW GLASS MAKING.
In Germany, during several years past,
especially in Bavaria, the manufacture of
patent plate has grown enormously, and
very heavy glass is being blown at a very
small advance on the wages paid for single
strength. For grinding and polishing, the
swiftrunning streams Of the country fur
nish abundant water power at a very trif-
ling cost. So much has this branch of the
German sheet glass trade been developed,
that Belgium and England are being met
by IL on what have heretofore been consid-
cred home market.
In Belgium, however, the introduction
Of mach inery in the manufacture of window
glass is only question of time, and per
haps very short time.
The movement is different from any yet
attempted elsewhere. The object is not
simply to assist the blower with the help
of a machine, so he may be able to make
larger, heavier or more glass with greater
ease and less exhaustive TOLL but it aims at
abolishing cylinder blowing altogether, by
the substitution of process of rolling. The
main difficulty is to roll the glass thin
enough SO as TO save material. and to avoid
expense In grinding it down to the desir.
able thickness.
At the Besson Works, series of rollers
have been placed between the tank furnace
and annealiDg ovens and leers Through
these rolls similar to sheet mill rolls in
iron mills the molten glass being conduct
ed on to cooling table by means of sluice
or canal from the tank furnace, the mouth
of which is opened and closed at the will
of the operator, much the same as the flow
of liquid steel is controlled in the ladle
used to fill the ingot molds in Bessemer
steel manufacture.
From this table the glass passes through
the smooth sheet rolls, and after being roll
ed to the desired thickness (Which can be
regulated by powerful screws, same as in
iron mills), The sheet is conveyed on rollers
between two large cylinders, where II Is di-
vided into required lengths by means of an
ingenious shearing apparatus. All this Is
is done before the sheet cOOls sufficiently |
to lose Elasticity, and is thence conveyed
by means Of rollers (much the same as now |
used to convey steel rails from the rolls TO
the stretches) to the annealing leer. No
human hand touches the glass, and labor, |
with the machinery used, is but
a vanishing quantity,
The Walsh process, a similar invention
Is also being tried in Belgium, and enables
the operator to make plain sheets, ribbed,
rough or furrowed glass at will, by ingen-
Iously arranged projections on different
rolls. On the whole, these machines can
not yet be said 10 have proven successful,
but they are In progress of development,
and as success means immense profits both
70 investors and manufacturer, no expense
Or pains seems to deter Belgium manufact-
lrers
The sheets so rolled are not to be ground
and polished after wards, but when proper.
y rolled are as finished as piece Of fiat.
'ened window glass. The expansion of
he rollers has as yet tended to make the
body Of the sheet slightly uneven and not
If uniform thickness in all parts But the
Belgians are learning from the Yankees,
md gas jets are to be introduced to regulate
he expansion of the rollers.
1t Is idle, of course, to make any predic.
ions at this time, and 1t may be many
years before the hopes OF these inventors
Ire fully realized. Even then 1t will take
capital TO erect the necessary ma.
,hinery and extensive works required by
he new process.
The tank process and roller process max.
ng production continuous and the product
heap, must certainly revolutionize the
manufacture of sheet glass From work
,r's view, the day when the small factory
md intermittent melting furnace is displac-
ID by the large works and continuous melt.
ng tank the old,time independence of the
glass blower will be as vanished dream,
beautiful only in remembrance. There.
ore, let Us dance and shove the grog
around while yet we are free.